In this work, we investigate the dependence of the covering factor (CF) of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) (i) on the mid-infrared (MIR) luminosity and (ii) on the redshift. We constructed 12- and 22-micron luminosity functions (LFs) at 0.006 < z < 0.3 using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer} (WISE) data. Combining the WISE catalog with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopic data, we selected 223,982 galaxies at 12 micron and 25,721 galaxies at 22 micron for spectroscopic classification. We then identified 16,355 AGNs at 12 micron and 4,683 AGNs at 22 micron by their optical emission lines and cataloged classifications in the SDSS. Following that, we estimated the CF as the fraction of type 2 AGN in all AGNs whose MIR emissions are dominated by the active nucleus (not their host galaxies) based on their MIR colors. We found that (i) the CF decreased with increasing MIR luminosity, regardless of the choice of type 2 AGN classification criteria, and (ii) the CF did not change significantly with the redshift for z < 0.2. Furthermore, we carried out various tests to determine the influence of selection bias and confirmed similar dependences exist even when taking these uncertainties into account. The luminosity dependence of the CF can be explained by the receding torus model, but the "modified" receding torus model gives a slightly better fit, as suggested by Simpson.

The recent updates of the North Ecliptic Pole deep (0.5~deg$^2$, NEP-Deep) multi-wavelength survey covering from X-ray to radio-wave is presented. The NEP-Deep provides us with several thousands of 15~$\mu$m or 18~$\mu$m selected sample of galaxies, which is the largest sample ever made at this wavelengths. A continuous filter coverage in the mid-infrared wavelength (7, 9, 11, 15, 18, and 24~$\mu$m) is unique and vital to diagnose the contributions from starbursts and AGNs in the galaxies out to $z$=2.The new goal of the project is to resolve the nature of the cosmic star formation history at the violent epoch (e.g. $z$=1--2), and to find a clue to understand its decline from $z$=1 to present universe by utilizing the unique power of the multi-wavelength survey. The progress in this context is briefly mentioned.

A far-infrared observatory such as the {\it SPace Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics} ({\it SPICA}), with its unprecedented spectroscopic sensitivity, would unveil the role of feedback in galaxy evolution during the last $\sim10$ Gyr of the Universe ($z=1.5-2$), through the use of far- and mid-infrared molecular and ionic fine structure lines that trace outflowing and infalling gas. Outflowing gas is identified in the far-infrared through P-Cygni line shapes and absorption blueshifted wings in molecular lines with high dipolar moments, and through emission line wings of fine-structure lines of ionized gas. We quantify the detectability of galaxy-scale massive molecular and ionized outflows as a function of redshift in AGN-dominated, starburst-dominated, and main-sequence galaxies, explore the detectability of metal-rich inflows in the local Universe, and describe the most significant synergies with other current and future observatories that will measure feedback in galaxies via complementary tracers at other wavelengths.

IR spectroscopy in the range 12-230 micron with the SPace IR telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) will reveal the physical processes that govern the formation and evolution of galaxies and black holes through cosmic time, bridging the gap between the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the new generation of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) at shorter wavelengths and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) at longer wavelengths. SPICA, with its 2.5-m telescope actively-cooled to below 8K, will obtain the first spectroscopic determination, in the mid-IR rest-frame, of both the star-formation rate and black hole accretion rate histories of galaxies, reaching lookback times of 12 Gyr, for large statistically significant samples. Densities, temperatures, radiation fields and gas-phase metallicities will be measured in dust-obscured galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN), sampling a large range in mass and luminosity, from faint local dwarf galaxies to luminous quasars in the distant Universe. AGN and starburst feedback and feeding mechanisms in distant galaxies will be uncovered through detailed measurements of molecular and atomic line profiles. SPICA's large-area deep spectrophotometric surveys will provide mid-IR spectra and continuum fluxes for unbiased samples of tens of thousands of galaxies, out to redshifts of z~6. Furthermore, SPICA spectroscopy will uncover the most luminous galaxies in the first few hundred million years of the Universe, through their characteristic dust and molecular hydrogen features.

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York. LiteBIRD is a proposed CMB polarization satellite project to probe the inflationary B-mode signal. The satellite is designed to measure the tensor-to-scalar ratio with a 68 % confidence level uncertainty of σr< 10- 3, including statistical, instrumental systematic, and foreground uncertainties. LiteBIRD will observe the full sky from the second Lagrange point for 3 years. We have a focal plane layout for observing frequency coverage that spans 40–402 GHz to characterize the galactic foregrounds. We have two detector candidates, transition-edge sensor bolometers and microwave kinetic inductance detectors. In both cases, a telecentric focal plane consists of approximately 2 × 103superconducting detectors. We will present the mission overview of LiteBIRD, the project status, and the TES focal plane layout.